What's wrong with asking what your country can do for you?

In a rebuttal to Bush's idiotic speech last night, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle refer to the spirit of JFK's, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country," although they quote another similar quote of his.

I've never liked this quote (and frankly have never liked the Kennedys either, who I think are one of the most corrupt families in the country). I think it's easy for wealthy people, like JFK, Bush and Pelosi (who is a very wealthy woman), who have no needs, to ask others to put aside their needs, and focus on those of the country's. That's an aristocratic notion, not a democratic one. But that's not what government is about. It's not what government is supposed to be for at all. The government was, and is, established in order to serve people's needs. And that's it. Not to be a "light to the world" or any other such nonsense. If people want to reform or save the world let them do it on their own time, and on their own dime. Not mine.

Bush is just JFK revisited. Both spoiled sons of rich men, who had everything handed to them on a silver platter, and who are apparently not at all aware that others have to work for everything they have, and maybe not are not all that willing to turn it over to others so that they can mouth moronic platitudes and promote their political careers. Notice that forty years after JFK, we now have a government that does nothing for us, but expects us to do everything for it. We still have to pay all of the taxes, we just get nothing for it in return. :) And this is supposed to be a good thing?

There's nothing wrong with asking what the country can do for you. It's not shameful to do that, it's honorable and praiseworthy and patriotic. It's supposed to be a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." That's why we pay taxes, so that the government can do things for us, like providing schools, police protection and such. This idea that we exist in order to serve the government, and not the other way around, is totally incorrect, and is exactly what's wrong with this country, or more to the point, with what's wrong with the government. That's not freedom, that's slavery. It's time to turn this around, and demand to know exactly what the country is going to do for us, and if it isn't going to do anything to get rid of it. Period.

I also have to disagree with her statement that "The state of our union is indeed strong, due to the spirit of the American people - the creativity, optimism, hard work, and faith of everyday Americans." I think this is a major reason for all of the problems facing this country today. People continue to claim that everything is basically OK, but it's not. This country is in very bad shape, and getting worse. People are dying because of the lack of medical care. Dying. And until people are able to acknowledge and confront the problems it will continue to decline, and more and more people will suffer. I'm all for optimism, but not when that's used just to hide problems and to hide an inability and refusal to face the facts.

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